


The Consequences of Failure

by BlueNightmare



Category: Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors
Genre: Bondage, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/F, Punishment, Strap-Ons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 09:44:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17404586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueNightmare/pseuds/BlueNightmare
Summary: The aftermath of a failed campaign has different consequences for different people, as Wang Yuanji discovers when she returns to her lady's private quarters.





	The Consequences of Failure

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another old work with added parts, because I always wanted to but age ratings made it unwise. From mid-2015. Keeping with the Warriors theme.

Stone-grey clouds blotted out the sky over Luoyang, a perfect match for the solemn brickwork of the capital city's walls.

The dull shade was also a match for the grim mood of the lovely young woman making her way up the stone stairs to the residence of the Wei kingdom's greatest strategist. The last few weeks had been unkind to Wang Yuanji, subjecting her to many days of travel on horseback to and from the south and a grueling battle in between that the forces of Wei had lost decisively to the kingdom of Wu. The campaign had left her bitter and exhausted, and it had all been for nothing in the end.

There was no doubt in her mind as to who was at fault, but it would be impossible to discern her frustrations from her lovely but emotionless features. Yuanji had always been good at keeping her composure even at the most difficult of times, just one trait that had made her so widely admired throughout the Wei army. Her intellect was another, her skill with her throwing blades a third.

Most obvious to an observer, however, was her beauty. A petite girl dwarfed by many of the men she served beside, Yuanji stood out within the ranks for more than just her diminutive stature. Her striking ash-blonde hair, tied in a long ponytail behind her slender frame, caught the attention of many admirers within Wei and without, of high rank and low. Her habit of wearing low-cut bodices that exposed much of her ample bosom had done little to hurt her popularity among the men, of course.

Such was the garb she had worn today, the very same battle dress that she had worn to Wu. The soft, sky-blue fabric was adorned with patterns of white and gold, the short sleeves and thigh-length skirt shrouded by ornate lace that would seem more at home on a noblewoman’s nightgown. Knee-high stockings with soles built into the feet were all the protection that her legs required, while the remainder of her delicate body was left almost entirely uncovered; her generous chest, her statuesque face...

Armor was for those slow enough to be hit in the first place.

As she reached the top of the lengthy stairs, Yuanji’s piercing golden eyes scanned the perimeter of the Sima clan’s residence, searching for any sign of the renowned family. No sign here of Sima Yi, the legendary strategist, nor of his eldest son, the talented Sima Shi. No Sima Zhao, of course, for the younger son was still hours behind with the rear ranks of the returning army. 

Yuanji had ridden ahead with the main force, and upon her arrival had come straight here without so much as changing her clothing. Knowing that she was welcome and expected within its walls, she slipped through the doors and into the darkened residence. There was no point in dallying outside in the hopes that she would be invited in.

When Lady Zhang Chunhua called, one responded. Immediately.

The Sima clan matriarch was waiting for Yuanji, seated behind the large table at the center of the inner room. It had always been difficult to discern the Lady Chunhua’s age, for she had maintained her beauty despite having borne two now-adult sons and her stern countenance deterred the wise from asking, but Yuanji always felt like a child in her presence. The older woman’s rosy lips smiled at her as she approached, but her light brown eyes remained analytical and distant. Cold.

"My lady," Yuanji greeted with a respectful bow, glad for the excuse to avert her gaze for even one moment.

"Yuanji." Chunhua’s voice was frosty, despite her lingering smile. "You have returned."

"Y-yes, my lady." Hesitation was uncommon for the normally unflappable Yuanji, known for her bluntness toward others regardless of their rank, but she had always feared Lady Chunhua's disapproval above that of any other. Even the rest of the Sima clan, heroes as they were, refrained from angering the strict matriarch. “You wished to hear my report?”

Chunhua waited.

“Y-yes, well...” She had never been a tall girl, but Chunhua had a way of making her feel even smaller without speaking a single word. “We... we lost the battle and were forced to retreat.”

“I know.”

_Of course she knows._ Yuanji could have sensed Chunhua’s impatience from a mile away, and mentally kicked herself. This was the last person she wanted to seem a fool in front of, not when she normally held Yuanji in such high regard. “The... the Wu forces overwhelmed us,” she went on, struggling to regain her poise, knowing that the news she was about to impart would not be welcome. “We had split our forces and moved them south and east under the command of-”

“ _I know_ , dear.” Chunhua’s irritated frown sent a chill racing down Yuanji’s spine. No wonder the matriarch’s family feared her. “Jia Chong has already given me his report on the battle. I know that my idiot son gave Zhuge Dan command of the men, and that the fool proceeded to run our army into the ground while Zhao stood by and watched. I am perfectly aware of the reasons that our campaign failed.”

Yuanji blinked, confused. She had spent the last few hours dreading giving her the news of what Sima Zhao had done and the catastrophe his laziness and Zhuge Dan’s incompetence had wrought between them, but if Chunhua already knew about that, then why had she demanded another report?

“Zhao, despite his natural ability, can be quite the imbecile.” Chunhua rested her chin on her folded hands as she stared across the table at Yuanji. “However... do you remember who I appointed to oversee his growth into a son I could actually be proud of? Whose duty was it to ensure that debacles like this did not occur?”

Yuanji flinched. So this wasn’t really about Zhao at all. “My lady-”

“ _Who was it_?”

“It... it was me, my lady.” Yuanji could no longer stomach Chunhua’s disapproving glare, averting her golden eyes to the empty table between them. “I have not yet been able to alter Master Sima Zhao’s behavior.”

“Do you believe that his behavior _cannot_ be changed? That my son is beyond hope?” Chunhua raised an eyebrow, almost daring Yuanji to say so.

Yuanji shook her head, her golden ponytail swishing behind her. “No, my lady. I have seen him act decisively when truly required of him. He has the ability to see what must be done, and to do it. He simply requires motivation.”

“I see.” Chunhua nodded, expecting this response. Sometimes it seemed that there was nothing she did not know. “If he can be changed, but has not, then the fault must lie as much with you as with him. Don’t you agree?”

“...Yes, my lady.” Yuanji stiffened, lowering her gaze this time out of shame rather than discomfort. Perhaps she _should_ have pushed Zhao harder during the battle, for if he had lived up to his natural talent, the result might have been a very different one. It was far too late to change things now. She was almost as responsible for the failed battle as Zhao or Zhuge Dan. “Do you intend to dismiss me?”

That seemed to amuse Chunhua more than anything, though she did not go so far as to laugh. “Of course not, dear Yuanji. You are far too valuable to discard so easily. However...”

Yuanji tilted her head to the side, awaiting her mistress’ judgment. Even she, with her unrivaled powers of perception, found it difficult to tell what Lady Chunhua was thinking.

Then, the brunette matriarch rose to her feet, and Yuanji’s keen eyes failed to register the gauntlet affixed to her hand until it was too late.

“Zhao is not the only one who requires punishment.”

Before Yuanji had the chance to ready herself, Chunhua triggered the clever little mechanism built into her gauntlet. The quartet of sharp metal claws embedded within the weapon sprang forth, flying towards Yuanji at a speed too fast for even her keen eyes to follow, each one trailing a thin but sturdy metal wire in its wake. 

Her brain knew what was happening, but her body could not react to her alarm in time, leaving her frozen in place as the wires converged on her from every angle. They wrapped themselves around her petite form with blinding speed, whipping around her torso and snaring her arms against her sides, constricting around her with merciless tightness and biting cruelly into her skin where it lay exposed. All of a sudden, with sharp metal tendrils digging into her breasts and squeezing them back into her chest, the low neckline of her dress no longer seemed like such a good idea...

The cold metal embrace trapped her completely, punishing her for even the tiniest movement, sinking into her flesh and threatening to draw blood every time she dared struggle against it. Biting down on her lip in distress, she forced herself to focus on Chunhua rather than the vise-like pressure, shooting the older woman a pleading look that was far more tearful and pathetic than she had intended. Only her mentor could tear apart Yuanji’s stoic facade like this, a feat no foe had ever equaled.

Chunhua was not known for her kindness towards those who had failed her, even towards one who was almost as close as a daughter, and her expression didn’t change as her fingers manipulated the mechanisms of her gauntlet, forcing the wires to retract towards her.

Held prisoner in their grip, Yuanji was forced to move along with them. Even the tiniest hesitation brought her pain as the wires constricted further, pressing trails into her arms and back and breasts, and the reserved little blonde had no choice but to stumble towards Chunhua with hasty, awkward steps. “M-my lady... please...”

“Be silent.” A mighty tug from the wires - Yuanji had forgotten just how strong the slender matriarch was - brought her crashing into the table between them, her thighs colliding with the sharp-edged lip with enough force to bruise. Despite Chunhua’s command Yuanji could not hold back a startled yelp, the sound evolving into a breathless groan as the claws continued to retract, heedless of her pain. The wires dragged her upper body forward, forcing her to bend over the smooth wooden surface of the table or risk her entire body being hauled over it like a ridiculous little doll, and she grounded her feet against the floor, unwilling to surrender completely even if it meant her ornate skirt rode up over her thighs like it now was, revealing the frilly white shorts she wore beneath.

Yuanji didn’t resist. She had seen Chunhua whip these long, slender talons about the battlefield, tearing opposing soldiers apart in a web of flesh-shredding strands of metal, and she was very aware of just what they could do to her if she squirmed too much against their devilish embrace. No, she was too wise to put herself in such peril for little possible gain, even if she already yearned to be free of the restrictive wires that bound her.

In the back of her sharp mind, she knew that Chunhua was counting on that. The older woman was deliberately making Yuanji complicit in her own suffering, bending the girl to her will mentally as much as physically. Such were the cruel little games that Chunhua liked to play with others. Controlling. Manipulating. Asserting her dominance, whether her victim was a subordinate, her husband, or the girl she had treated as a daughter.

Showing no regard whatsoever for the helpless Yuanji, Chunhua made a deliberately slow display of slipping the gauntlet from her hand, leaving the wires still drawn taut around the disciplined girl as she placed the weapon on the table with a _clunk_. Then, humming a soft tune to herself, the calculating beauty circled around the table and the blonde girl held prisoner there, light brunette hair and patterned purple cloth trailing behind her graceful form as she stepped out of her captive’s sight.

Yuanji was aware that it was possible for her to struggle back to a standing position, held down in her current compromising posture not by the web of wires enclosing her but by her own fear and obedience, but the wise young woman knew that to defy her mentor now would be extremely foolish. Chunhua _wanted_ her like this, bent over the table with her hindquarters in the air and her face and breasts pressed against the flat, polished wood of the table, and even if she were to defy Chunhua by rising, she lacked the freedom to do any more than that. No, there was no benefit to her in trying to get out of this, although her pounding heart fluttered against her ribcage, demanding she at least try to escape.

Fingers seized Yuanji’s ash-blonde ponytail, yanking her head backward so savagely that it brought tears to her golden eyes.

Knives of pain thrust themselves into her scalp as instinct kicked in and she struggled, her hair threatening to tear itself loose. It was to no avail; Chunhua kept an iron grip on the pale strands of her protege’s ponytail, forcing her to stare up at the ceiling through her watering eyes, bringing the woman’s blurry, coldly-smiling visage into her field of view. It _hurt_ , oh did it ever hurt, but Yuanji swallowed her cry of distress, willing herself to retreat behind her usual stoic facade in a desperate attempt to please Chunhua. 

It wouldn’t fool her for a second, but trying to make her happy was the only way to avoid more suffering.

“You are becoming weak, my dear.” Chunhua’s disappointed words were accompanied by the swoop of a delicate fingertip to the corner of Yuanji’s eye, collecting the salty liquid that had begun to trickle down her tilted face. “I had thought that your work ethic would rub off on Zhao, but I see it is he who has rubbed off on you. I had such high hopes for you, too...”

“I... I apologize, my lady,” Yuanji choked out, her throat straining from the pressure of her head’s uncomfortable position. “I t-take f-f-full...”

“ _Be silent._ ”

Yuanji did, feeling chastened despite knowing that Chunhua had purposely lured her into breaking her silence. She had been manipulated once again. The wires binding her arms to her sides might as well have been a marionette’s strings.

“I will give you a second chance to turn my son around, but it will need to be earned.” The curled fingers of Chunhua’s right hand stroked against Yuanji’s cheek, tender and affectionate despite the hold she maintained upon the small girl’s ash-blonde ponytail. “You will stay here with me for the night, and pay the price for your ineptitude. Unless you would prefer to be demoted instead? I believe Zhong Hui has an opening for a lieutenant in his army...”

Serve under that deceitful, abrasive narcissist? Intolerable. Yuanji shook her head as best she could manage, barely a twitch from side to side with her ponytail still held captive. Even this small motion sent fresh pain searing through her scalp, but better this than speaking again and being punished for it. She had tested Chunhua’s patience enough.

“I thought not.” The older woman’s right hand, so gentle just a moment ago, clamped itself roughly around Yuanji’s chin, her fingers jamming into the petite girl’s cheeks and squeezing her mouth, molding her lips into an indecent pucker. “Open up, dear.”

Confused but intimidated into obedience, Yuanji did so, only to find something smooth and silken being drawn between her teeth and pulled back into the corners of her mouth, tied tight behind her head. The sleeve, a purple covering not attached to Chunhua’s dress that had been kept in place around her limb by her gauntlet and a small string about her upper arm, cleaved into Yuanji’s lips and forced down her sharp-spoken tongue, leaving her unable to form proper words around the impromptu gag.

“Stay in position. Don’t move a muscle.” Chunhua’s voice rose from behind Yuanji, a menacing note lurking beneath the surface of her almost pleasant tone. Something metallic clinked and jingled in accompaniment of her words, sending a thrill of anxiety along Yuanji’s spine as her anxious mind tried to imagine what was about to happen. What was her mentor doing back there?

An unseen smile graced Chunhua’s face as she settled her leather harness around her hips, the belts circling her waist and between her legs already securely buckled in place. There was no need for little Yuanji to see the large black phallus protruding from her crotch, an imitation she had ordered from a rather discreet craftswoman in the city, but the clever little blonde girl would be aware of its presence soon enough.

It was irritating to see her young protege fail to change her son’s lazy mindset, for the fate of the Wei kingdom could well depend on Zhao’s readiness to take the reins of power someday... but if it gave her an excuse to administer her special form of discipline to the clever young woman she had taken under her wing, Chunhua was pleased that even Yuanji failed sometimes.

Her elegant hands slipped beneath Yuanji's hiked skirt, seizing the thin shorts she wore beneath and guiding them down to her knees, and though Yuanji grew tense against the table she did not resist, Chunhua's command still hanging over her like a scythe ready to fall. To resist would be to invite further punishment. Instead, the blonde girl fought to control the precious few things that she actually had some measure of control over at this moment; her breathing, her fear, the thoughts running riot in her clever brain. She would trust in her lady, as she always did. She would endure whatever punishment Chunhua saw fit, and-

A finger teased along her slit, and she could not stop herself from gasping.

She had expected her fearsome teacher to retaliate for her transgression, but the sound she had made went ignored, and that digit did not cease its wandering journey. The warm little fingertip traced her up and down, trailing delicately between her intimate folds, then back again, and there was only one motive that Yuanji could conceive of, though it was scandalous even to think of. This was no accidental fumble. Chunhua was attempting to arouse her.

More disgraceful was that Yuanji allowed her to do it.

True, she had little means of actual resistance with her arms wired against her sides, but she could have at least put up a fight, or tried to speak through her gag. It would have hurt, and her lady might have made her pay a price for her defiance, but she should be _fighting_ this, no matter who was doing it to her. This wasn't right. Not from anyone, even the woman who was like a mother to her. Maybe even less so.

Yet she didn't fight it. Maybe it was blind faith, maybe it was conditioned subservience, but Yuanji let Chunhua's finger slide up and down her slit, stirring her into the beginnings of arousal, caging uneasy breaths behind tight-clenched teeth as her lady's fingertip began to sink inside of her, parting her most sensitive place around it. The invasive wriggle of her mistress's brazen digit inside of her felt utterly alien, perverse, and she whined in discomfort as Chunhua explored her, toyed with her...

Withdrew her finger, and pressed something cold and hard against her moistening lower lips instead.

"Adaptability is an important trait for an officer," Chunhua reminded her, the poison in her voice warm and honey-sweet. "Not just in battle, but as a leader of men, as well. Sometimes it is a talent one is born with, sometimes it can be taught..."

The tip of the phallus at Chunhua's hips slowly pushed its way inside of Yuanji, forcing the blonde girl's flower to bloom around it, and she cried out in pain, nowhere near ready. Larger and far less forgiving than Chunhua's finger, it sank into her as if it were meant to fit despite her body's natural resistance, making her squirm as it opened her up, huffing and whimpering, struggling not to scream.

"Barely a peep." Chunhua's words were approving, but approval did not equal mercy; she remained hilted in Yuanji's cunt, holding her toy inside of the bound young woman, forcing her to adjust to its girth. "Still as disciplined as ever." 

"Why...?" Finally Yuanji gave in and spoke, choking the word out, the wires digging sharp trails into her arms as she sought comfort and found none, physical or mental. "Why this...?"

She didn't dare beg Chunhua to stop. She knew that she would not be heeded. All that she could do was endure what she was told to endure, and frame it in her mind appropriately. This was necessary. If it was what her lady wanted, there was surely a reason for it, even if she herself couldn't grasp it.

If she had seen the coldness on Chunhua's beautiful face, perhaps she would not have had so much faith in her mentor.

"Because failure must have consequences." She had adjusted enough, the matriarch decided, sliding her imitation cock out of Yuanji's suffering passage, then slipping it back in, faster, harder, drawing another whimper out of her ash-blonde captive. "I cannot dismiss you... or have you transferred, or imprisoned, or tortured..." She ground her toy as deep as it would go, observing the way Yuanji's normally composed face contorted, the way her whine elevated to a cry of pain. "But I cannot allow things to continue as they are. I cannot allow my son to betray his family's expectations, can I now, my dear?"

"N-no..." Yuanji squeaked, desperate to comply, gasping in relief as Chunhua withdrew and left her hollow and hurting. She tried to snatch in a breath, but she was too slow, her mouth opening around a silent scream as her lady forced her implement back into her again, filling her, paining her.

"Then learn your lesson well," Chunhua commanded, her hips closing on Yuanji's hindquarters as she sheathed herself deep in her petite protege. "You _will_ do your job, Yuanji, or I will make you suffer for your ineptitude. I will call you back to my rooms and have you bend over for me as many times as I need to, so _do not make me_."

She bent over Yuanji then, pressing her down into the desk as she held her bound and impaled, mercilessly driving home her point.

"I expect the best from you. Always."


End file.
